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Technology Description
Smart grids are a new way of delivering electric energy to consumers, homes, and businesses. They implement automatic feedback technology that allows for smart processing of information. This revolutionizes the outdated energy system of today by enhancing it with the digital technology of tomorrow. Smart Power Grids Electric grids serve to generate energy and deliver it to consumers. In general, it consists of generators, which produce electrical power; transmission lines, which carry power over long distances from those sources to demand centers; and distribution lines, which finally carry power from demand centers to consumers such as households and businesses. Currently, the United States uses an electric grid that was originally built in the 1890s. It has gone through many changes as technological advances occurred, however, the system is reaching its limits. For instance, the aging infrastructure is starting to fail, leading to costly power outages. Grid operators have limited knowledge and control over the grid, making it difficult to respond effectively to outages. Moreover, the system suffers inefficiencies due to its inability to keep up with the rapid growth many areas have undergone since 1890. Today, the combination of high consumer energy demand and limited, costly supply has brought forth a need for a new system. Smart grids are the answer to that call. Rather than building upon outdated technology, smart grids build from the bottom up. They integrate communication and feedback between utilities, grid operators, and consumers which provides a host of benefits such as improved detection and response to problems. The new system features smart meters and self-healing operations centers. Operations Centers Presently, operations centers are outdated. Operators are there to meet demand with supply in order to reduce energy waste and ensure good service. However, they have little information on what sources are being used, which areas need it most, and how nearby energy grids might affect them. With new technology, the operators will have greater visibility, knowledge, and capability to respond to service interruptions such as blackouts. Data will be sent to operations centers from machines that are downstream in the process, such as sensors on power lines, local operations centers, or households. Measurements will be collected in a time-synchronized fashion through Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs), about 30 times a second, to provide an accurate, real-time picture of the overall power system. Operators are able to better understate the state of energy consumption and directly manage it as necessary. Additionally, the system can self-heal by automatically redirecting energy as needed. For instance, it can dampen power oscillations, which have the dangerous potential to overload a power line, ripple out, and cause widespread blackouts. Self-healing operating centers can quickly and automatically respond by knowing exactly where power needs to go, how much power to give, and where it is optimal to draw from. Besides providing real-time data, smart centers can provide data over time to help make decisions. For instance, careful analysis may reveal trends that indicate faulty equipment such as an inaccurate smart meter or defective power line. In another example, consistently high power usage in an area could warrant the addition of a new power plant to meet demand. Smart Meters Smart meters will be replacing analog meters that consumers currently use to report their energy usage. As implementation efforts grow, they may be built anew or retrofitted onto existing meters. In fact, these have already been installed in some areas such as parts of California and Texas. The new meters feature a digital screen which are much easier to read and far more precise than old displays that feature outdated needles. The meters accurately track how much energy is being used and by which applications (e.g. air conditioning units, televisions). This information is available not only to the consumer, who can use this to monitor his usage, but also to the utilities companies. Information is automatically sent at least daily to these firms, allowing for far greater visibility than the typical monthly report. This also allows for reduced labor costs and better ease of use. The smart meter does more than track energy usage — it interacts with the grid at large. For instance, it can lower prices during off-peak hours. Using this, it can regulate energy usage within the household, such as by running certain machines like dishwashers when the price is low. Another example is helping to respond to power disruptions. By learning of a potential blackout early on, it can help to reduce its happening by lowering energy use or keeping only essential machinery on, such as heating or refrigeration.